Bidders make their moves

Floyd Sarisohn didn't know how his life would change after receiving an engagement present from his wife, Bernice, 56 years ago. It was a chess set.

"It was a mistake," he said.

His brother then bought them a chess set from Japan, and Bernice's parents got them another one. He now has 1,441 sets. They're in every room of his house.

"When you have three sets, you already have a collection," Bernice Sarisohn said.

The Sarisohns, wearing matching button-down checkered chess shirts, joined about 50 other collectors Thursday afternoon at the Auction Gallery of the Palm Beaches, as well as dozens on eBay, to bid on more than 130 chess sets and books.

The auction was run in conjunction with the U.S. Chess Federation's convention. It is co-sponsored by the World Chess Hall of Fame museum in Miami, said former USCF president Don Schultz, who is helping the Sarisohns run the convention. He said more than 300 people have played chess at the event, which began Monday and runs through Saturday at the Boca Raton Marriott.

Senior players from around the world are competing for a national title.

Auction manager Leslie Baker, of Delray Beach, said the chess auction is unusual compared to the other auctions he runs. He said there is a narrow spectrum of people who collect chess sets. Some people at the auction came from places as far as England, Italy and Russia.

Roberto Spinosa-Cattela, who came from Madrid to the convention, started playing chess at 5 or 6 and won a tournament at 15.

"I get to know all of these people from different countries with a common interest of chess," Spinosa-Cattela said.

Floyd Sarisohn, a lawyer in Commack, N.Y., said Europeans tend to like antique chess sets and Americans lean toward the more modern styles, but all kinds of sets were up for bid.

A Star Wars-themed set, a set made of seashells and a "Jews vs. Catholics" set each sold for $75. The one that got the highest bid was a Japanese carved set, which sold for $13,000.

The Sarisohns' most valuable - a Venetian set from the 1700s - is worth between $25,000 and $45,000, Floyd Sarisohn said. But their least expensive set, a paper Clinton vs. Dole election set that cost around $10, is problematic: "The queen is Hillary," Floyd said, "but if she becomes president, should I make her the queen or the king?"

The Sarisohns claim to have the largest collection of chess sets in the country.

"Even the bathroom has a chess set made of soap," he said. "When the children moved out, the chess sets moved in."

In a house filled with sets, the couple hardly play the game.

"Having the set is secondary," Floyd Sarisohn said. "The fun is in acquiring."

Lia Lehrer can be reached at ljlehrer@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6636.